
12345
Rev. 1.11
- 6 -
hard to reach magnetic saturation. If the value of inductance of an inductor is extremely small, the ILX, which
flows through Lx transistor and an inductor, may exceed the absolute maximum rating at the maximum loading.
Use an inductor with appropriate inductance.
l Use a diode of a Schottky type with high switching speed, and also pay attention to its current capacity.
l If the spike noise of Lx pin is too large, make snub circuit (such as serial connection of CR) between Lx and
GND, then the noise will be reduced. The time constant of the CR depends on the actual PCB, so evaluate it
on the actual PCB.
l
If the load current of the voltage regulator is small, because of the switching noise of DC/DC converter,
the output voltage of VOUT2 may be large. To avoid this, use the voltage regulator with a load current at
least 1mA.
P The performance of power source circuits using these ICs extremely depends upon the peripheral circuits.
Pay attention in the selection of the peripheral circuits. In particular, design the peripheral circuits in a way
that the values such as voltage, current, and power of each component, PCB patterns and the IC do not
exceed their respected rated values.
n OPERATION of step-down DC/DC converter and Output Current
The step-down DC/DC converter charges energy in the inductor when Lx transistor is ON, and discharges
the energy from the inductor when Lx transistor is OFF and controls with less energy loss, so that a lower
output voltage than the input voltage is obtained. The operation will be explained with reference to the
following diagrams:
<Basic Circuits>
<Current through L>
Step 1: Lx Tr. turns on and current IL (=i1) flows, and energy is charged into CL. At this moment, IL increases
from ILmin (=0) to reach ILmax in proportion to the on-time period (ton) of LX Tr.
Step 2: When Lx Tr. turns off, Schottky diode (SD) turns on in order that L maintains IL at ILmax, and current
IL (=i2) flows.
Step 3: IL decreases gradually and reachesILmin after a time period oftopen, and SD turns off, provided that
in the continuous mode, next cycle starts before IL becomes to 0 because toff time is not enough. In this case,
IL value is from this ILmin (>0).
In the case of PWM control system, the output voltage is maintained by controlling the on-time period (ton),
with the oscillator frequency (fosc) being maintained constant.
l Discontinuous Conduction Mode and Continuous Conduction Mode
The maximum value (ILmax) and the minimum value (ILmin) current which flow through the inductor is the
SD
L
CL
VOU
T
IOUT
VI
N
Lx Tr
i1
i2
ILmax
T=1/fosc
toff
ton
ILmin
topen